The Center for Creative Connections (C3) has been working closely with our Manager of Access Programs, Emily Wiskera, to create new sensory activities at each of the Pop-Up Art Spots. This month we have added a new activity to our Pop-Up Art Spot in the 18th-Century European Gallery. The works of art on view in this gallery are so epic they feel like they are straight out of a movie. So, we invited local musicians Clint Niosi and Claire Hecko to compose one-minute “film scores” for four of the works of art on view. Here’s a sneak peek of two of them:

Stop by the Pop-Up Art Spot on Saturdays between 1:00 and 4:00 p.m. or on Late Night between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m., check out an iPod, and listen to these mesmerizing sounds as you look closely at these works of art.

Jessica Fuentes is the Manager of Gallery Interpretation and the Center for Creative Connections at the DMA.

Recently, the DMA’s Center for Creative Connections team and our Manager of Access Programs, Emily Wiskera, put their heads together to develop a new Pop-Up Art Spot with sensory-based activities. On Saturdays in December, pop in to the Museum to see Passages in Modern Art: 1946-1996 for FREE in the Barrel Vault Gallery on Level 1 and enhance your art experience.

With these Sensory Squares, you can explore what works of art might feel like if we were allowed to touch them. Look at nearby works of art as you feel each square and consider which works you think relate to each texture.

Check out a bag of scent bottles and a ring of art cards. Sample the scents and reflect on what memories or images come to mind when you smell them. Find each work of art on the cards provided and compare the scents to the artwork. Which scents do you connect with each work of art?

Interested in origami? Pick up a piece of paper and try your hand at figuring out the folds Dorothea Rockburne made to create the form in Locus Series #6.

Jessica Fuentes is the Manager of Gallery Interpretation and the Center for Creative Connections at the DMA.

Do you make New Year’s resolutions? Whether you set specific goals for 2014, or are just considering ways to give back to the community, the C3 Volunteer Program may be right for you. Center for Creative Connections (C3) volunteers help visitors to enjoy and explore the Museum’s collection and interactive activities, both in the C3 and in our collection galleries.

We’ve invited Kenton Visser, an artist and current C3 volunteer, to share his experiences–and a few of his works–with “Uncrated.”

The first question I ask myself when I wind up somewhere new is “Where is the art?” The Dallas Museum of Art has been the best answer I’ve found to that question in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

During my first visit to the DMA, my sister and I spent over an hour in C3. We were excited by how the Museum valued a space for visitors to not just observe art objects but respond by creating as well. The people at the DMA are aware that the Museum contains worlds to be found, and they encourage exploration with self-guided tours that focus on a particular theme or subject in various areas of the collection. As my personal take on these tours, I sometimes give myself drawing assignments in order to absorb what’s on display more fully, often surprising myself with what I can notice if I really look.

Recent changes with the DMA’s return to free general admission and the launch of DMA Friends have removed barriers and made it easy for visitors to gain rewards based on a point system. Volunteering brings its own rewards (such as free parking and free admission to special exhibitions and events) as well as 500 points for every shift. Naturally, I’ve enjoyed these perks, but volunteering has been rewarding enough in itself.

Although the Museum isn’t exactly close by for me (I currently live south of Fort Worth), I’ve always found it to be worth the trip. I applied to be a volunteer this past summer, looking for a way to better connect with artistic circles. My monthly shifts have given me a recurring reason to visit the Museum, and volunteering with C3 has provided an energizing platform for interacting with visitors through art. Even though I spend a large portion of my time making art, being in the Museum (and especially in C3) gives me a unique chance to see how art is received by a wide variety of people. School groups, individuals, adults and children, those who have studied art and those who haven’t—everyone who comes into C3 has a different reaction to the art and the hands-on activities available.
I’ve particularly enjoyed volunteering at the Pop-Up Art Spot, a compact cart stocked with simple activities that shows up in different galleries each week. It’s a nice oasis in the galleries and brings creative connections to people who wouldn’t seek out the main C3 space. I’ve been able to win over a number of visitors who seem unsure about participating in an activity (usually “I can’t draw” or “Isn’t this for kids?”) but then find themselves thoroughly enjoying it. Because I’m usually drawing or working on activities myself, I often have conversations with visitors about my own art. I’ve even had a few requests to prove my abilities by drawing portraits of the visitors or popular cartoon characters. These experiences in the C3 Gallery and Pop-Up Art Spot are perfect proof of the DMA’s belief that an art museum shouldn’t be just a building full of objects but a place where art happens.

If you are interested in becoming a C3 volunteer, request an application here. The application deadline is Friday, January 10.

Kenton Visser is a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and has lived in Crowley, Texas, since 2009. In addition to volunteering, he works as an illustrator, studio assistant and certified framer. His portfolio can be seen on his website.

Little-known fact: September 22 is Elephant Appreciation Day. I’ll bet you haven’t celebrated it before! Well, here at the DMA, we love elephants. Dumbo, Babar, Horton–they’re all great examples of lovable elephants, but our favorite elephants live on the third floor of the Museum.

This shrine was most likely used in a private home or chapel in India. Notice the intricate details on the elephants and their riders. This particular shrine is made of carved wood and covered with hammered sheet silver using a technique called repoussé. First, designs are created by hammering into the reverse side of a malleable metal. Then, the design is refined by chasing or embossing, to really get those little details to come to life.

I asked a few DMA staffers to take a good look at the shrine and then imagine what it would be like to be a part of the artwork. This is an activity that anyone can do at the DMA at our Pop-Up Art Spot around the Museum! If you haven’t already dropped by, make sure you do the next time you’re here. There are many different activities that can be done while you are in the galleries. Check out these talented drawings made at the shrine earlier this week!

Emma Vernon, Manager of the DMA Partners Program, drew herself traveling through Nepal on a very festive elephant!

McDermott Intern Madeleine Fitzgerald drew herself into the picture.

Sitting alongside a monkey is McDermott Intern Amy Elms.

Our Exhibitions Graphic Designer, Kevin Parmer, chose to do his drawing in black and white.

McDermott Intern Hayley Prihoda shows that anything is possible with her whimsical elephant.

The next time you’re at the Museum, stop by a Pop-Up Art Spot and have some fun! It is open from noon to 3:00 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on the weekends. Also, be sure to come by and show the elephants in the shrine your appreciation!Hayley Dyer is the Audience Relations Coordinator for Programming at the DMA.

On January 21, the Dallas Museum of Art introduced our new Pop-Up Art Spot, a place for free artistic activities in our galleries! Each week, the roaming Pop-Up Art Spot can be found in a different location, such as in the European art galleries on Level 2 or the Asian art galleries on Level 3. When you stretch your creativity muscles at the Pop-Up Art Spot, you can earn points and a badge through the DMA Friends program. Currently, we have three locations mapped out for our cart ,and each location has activities specifically designed to let visitors slow down and enjoy a new experience with works of art.

Here’s an example. When the cart pops up to the 20th-Century American Art Gallery, you can explore how artists use simple shapes to make complex compositions. Activities include using Shape Stencils to make a sketch inspired by Gerald Murphy’s Watch. Is sketching not your skill set? Have no fear! See below for more ideas.

A Shape Stencil Drawing.

A Shape Stencil Drawing

A Shape Poem Response

A Shape Poem Response

When you join us on Level 3 near the entrance to the Asian art galleries, you will find a range of sketching and writing activities. Even the littlest visitors can look at the silver shrine and imagine themselves on top of an elephant. Or, if you are looking for something more challenging, take a Story Starter, find a work of art, and write a story about it. How will your story unfold from the introduction line that is provided?

Elephant Drawing

This week, you can find us on Level 2 in the 20th-Century European Art Gallery. There, you can choose from surrealist-inspired games and creativity games like Speed Sketching, Unusual Combinations, or Take a Chance Poetry. Speed Sketching is great for those with a competitive streak. Play the game and see who can draw the most details from a single painting in two minutes. Unusual Combinations is a great collaborative game where participants take turns contributing to a communal drawing; the end product is a fun surprise for all! Take a Chance Poetry is an easy way to write a poem using the words of an artist from our collection. Start with a poem, then simply black out words to create a new poem of your own.

Unusual Combinations

Take a Chance Poetry

Speed Sketching

The next time you visit the Dallas Museum of Art, look for a Pop-Up Art Spot to have a creative experience with works of art in our collection for free. You might walk away with a new perspective about a work of art, someone you’re with, or yourself!

Jessica Fuentes is the C3 Gallery Coordinator.

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